Among the Wolves, in a World Painted Red
by That Dastard Cerberus
Summary: Chizuru was a normal girl with a seemingly normal life, until the day her father vanishes. Now desperately looking for him in the City of Ronin, Chizuru finds her entire world flipped upside its head, filled with blood thirsty monsters, mysterious demons, and dangerous wolves. Novelization of sorts.
1. Red

**Title**: The title is a work in in progress; my apologies

**Author**: Cecil Kain Cerberus

**Characters (central focus)**: Chizuru

**Pairings:** The author would like to take the time to say she's still thinking about this very important detail and would therefore like to remain quiet about it.

**Rating**: T

**Warnings for the reader: **setting and pairing, the fact that the author actually LIKES Chizuru, and the fact that, while this story will use canon knowledge, the author will use creative liberty in respects to small details, especially concerning the oni

**Setting**: In game verse/movie verse, following as many routes as I possibly can

**Summary**: Chizuru was a normal girl with a seemingly normal life, until the day her father vanishes. Now desperately looking for him in the City of Ronin, Chizuru finds her entire world flipped upside its head, filled with blood thirsty monsters, mysterious demons, and dangerous wolves.

**Genre: **Friendship, family, some romance, adventure, coming of age, drama, historical, supernatural

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Idea Factory/Otomate does. But if I did . . . well, let's just say some people would lose their sanity, while others would . . . erm . . . yeah.

* * *

_**Prologue**: Red_

* * *

_Red. All she could see for miles was red._

_The sky, the ground, her hands, all red._

_Her little feet ran, pounding into the soil with soft pads, echoing the child in front of her in pace. Wide brown eyes stared out, haunted by visions of scarlet everywhere, yet focusing on her brother's back. Her mouth gaped open, lungs burning from the combination of sulfur and strain._

_"Run, little Chizuru," a voice called out, somewhere in her mind, "Run and never look back."_

_Her left hand squeezed the clothed covered scabbard. Tears stung in her eyes. It hurt. Oh gods, it hurt. But she must continue to run, like Mother told her to. She mustn't look back._

_Suddenly, the fiery world flipped up, spinning as her feet suddenly lost their footing. Down she spiraled, her small, fragile body crashing through the vegetation. Red eventually faded to dark greens and browns, then various shades of black, until no color remained. Down and down she spun, until finally, it stopped. But her head did not stop swirling, images fading in and out of phase._

_Dizzy, she attempted to reach her hand out, murmuring the one word before darkness took her mind finally._

_"Brother…"_

* * *

And thus began a young girl's journey into a world filled with nothing but red. The sky, the earth, everything around her was red. Bloodshed shall plague her every waking moment. Cursed or blessed, the child will soon be thrust into more chaos, tearing her apart until she finally crumbles.


	2. The Man in the Kago

_-::Among the Wolves, in a World Painted Red::-_

_-:Chapter I – The Man in the Kago:-_

* * *

Chizuru admitted that folding paper cranes in the yard was not the most productive ways of spending her time while her father was busy working. Indeed, most of the time when he was dealing with patients, she was at his side, eagerly fetching things back and forth while listening intently about what medicine did this and what tool did that.

However, as of late, her father had been seeing less of patients and more of men in important looking kimonos. She couldn't shake off the foreboding feeling the day these men had appeared at her father's clinic, asking to see a Dr. Yukimura.

That day had been like any other, with her father working with a patient. He had told Chizuru to sweep the front, as he did not need her help at the moment, but he also knew he couldn't just let her stand still. Chizuru hated the feeling of doing nothing, and while she did not mind sweeping, the moment she took the broom in her hands, she felt a feeling she rarely experienced.

It was a sick feeling in the bottom of her gut, yet it gave no physical ailments. Chizuru knew something bad was going to happen, yet she did not know when or where. No amount of reasoning away the feeling could get her out of her rut. Yet, as she stood outside, the sky was clear, and people were smiling. Nothing was out of place; no hint towards the gut wrenching feeling she was experiencing.

Until she saw a kago being lend by two men on horses, heading down the street towards her house.

Chizuru did not know what to do, except fall onto her knees with her head bowed, not daring to move. Her eyes, however, were plagued with curiosity, and she dared a look as the two horses stopped at the front gate, along with the kago following them. Two large men in loincloths carried the kago on their massive shoulders, their naked bodies caked in sweat from the summer heat. They swooped down, gently placing the passenger-box down. The two horsemen slipped off their horse smoothly, and, when one of them turned to face the clinic, Chizuru's breathing hitched when she noticed the two swords hanging at his hip.

Samurai.

One of the samurai stepped in front of the kago, sliding open the door and ducking his head inside. Her acute ears picked up the whispering of two men, one most likely being the samurai, the other, possibly, his master.

Chizuru's brown eyes flickered down when she noticed the other samurai glancing down at her.

"Girl, is the residence of Dr. Yukimura Kodo?"

Chizuru's voice, trembling, barely managed to croak, "Y-y-yes, honorable lords."

Sounds of sandals crunching grovel sounded before her, until she saw the sandaled feet of someone positioned in front of her.

"Retrieve the good doctor for us, girl." Chizuru didn't need to be told twice, as she shot up to her feet and dashed inside, to where her father was.

Even though he was in the middle of looking after a patient, even though he demanded to know why Chizuru left the front door if there wasn't an emergency, she still told him of the men waiting outside, wanting to see him.

After returning from the front, her father looked tired and slightly confused. He gave her instructions on how to care for the patient before packing a few things and leaving.

It was a few days later before he finally returned, but something had changed in his demeanor.

The change was only slight, with her father becoming more secretive than usual. It never really bothered her much, as her father was mostly a quiet man who kept to himself. Still, the level of secrecy he had now was bordering on the line of dangerous.

"Although," Chizuru noted aloud, "I suppose secrets run in the family."

The sun was still up in the sky, although it was beginning to gain an oranguish hue to it, forewarning night. Looking up at the sky, Chizuru let out a soft sigh. The man in the kago had appeared several more times, other times sending his samurai to bring her father to him. Either way, whether the man in the kago called, her father had to stop what he was doing and leave Chizuru alone.

Biting her lower lip, Chizuru wondered how long this was going to continuing, as she smoothed out another sheet for a crane. Either way, it was not her business, nor did she have the right to pry. Even though it didn't help that her curiosity was killing her, and her increasing worry was only egging her interest further.

Frowning, she shook the rising thoughts of finding out away. No, that wasn't right. It was her father's business; everything was fine. She was just overthinking things, like she always did. Still, her fingers paused midway in their work, it was in a daughter's right to worry. Perhaps just asking a simple question and then letting it be. Just to let her father know she was worrying about him.

Thinking it a good thought, she nodded to herself, smiling, all the while finishing the crane. 10 cranes in total had been made while waiting for her father to get back from his meeting. She would need to add these to her growing collection of paper cranes. Maybe, if she kept this up, she could finish the thousand crane project she had jokingly come up with her father. Like her name.

Collecting her work, she went back inside the small house, placing each piece carefully on her desk before picking up a broom. At least she could do some last minute cleaning (even if she had already cleaned the front five times since her father left) and get a chance to great her father the moment he walked into the door.

Only moments later he arrived, like she hoped.

Yet it was a mere second later that she found out something was horribly wrong.


End file.
